Heroes
by applemysteries
Summary: "Princess," he called. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt at all." Cordy/Doyle story with a very mild hint of Cordy/Angel. Set during the Season Five episode, "You're Welcome". One-Shot.


Summary: Set during Angel season five, episode "You're Welcome." Mainly Cordy/Doyle but there is a Cordy/Angel spot, a figure it'll be pretty easy to spot since it's basically the kiss that happens in the episode. Essentially, Cordy is given her last chance to go see Angel, and she's afraid of dying. Sort of. This ones kind of hard to give a summary to.

Spoilers/Warning: Spoilers for the episode "You're Welcome" and "Hero" (if you didn't know that Doyle died) also, there is a character death, if you can already guess whose going to die then congratulations, you must have magical powers. (:

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon is god, and you don't steal from your god, or your god will kill you.

* * *

_"Princess," he called. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt at all." _

_

* * *

_

Being in a coma was almost like being asleep. Or being half asleep rather. You could hear everything that was going on but you couldn't bring yourself to wake up. It felt as though you were half alive.

Which was how Cordelia felt. Half alive. Half of her was so damn angry that the powers weren't waking her up, and the other half of her… well, let's just use the word grateful. Cordelia had been fighting the good fight since she was sixteen years old. Then, for everyone she'd been fighting the good fight for to suddenly turn to the dark side made her sick. She knew that none of them were really evil, but that didn't make the blow sting any less.

"Fighting evil from the inside out" is what Angel had told her when he'd visited, shortly after they'd all accepted the deal. He visited at least once a week, updating her on everything. Gunn and Wes stopped by a lot too, at least two or three times a month, but never together, it made Cordelia wonder about when their friendship had been unbreakable. Fred and Lorne came around once a month, if at all. Usually, they came together, and usually by the time they left, both of them were in tears. Connor never came, and Cordelia knew why. Thinking about that made her sick as well. Lots of things made her feel sick lately.

She'd bargained with the powers, she'd received on last vision, and the fact that Angel, Fred, Lorne, Wes and Gunn might all die because she couldn't tell them had been a rouse of sorts for her. She'd forced herself to travel into the PTB plane, and she had shrieked and screamed and demanded that they let her wake up. That had been when they told her she was dying, and that even if they did wake her up, her body would have no energy, and when she would go to sleep, she would die.

The similarities between when that had happened before were eerie. She just wanted to help Angel, to save people's lives.

Thankfully, the PTB _owed _her, and she was able to strike a deal with them. For a little less than twenty-four hours, the Powers would awaken her spirit and she could deliver her message to Angel.

The consequences were clear though, Cordelia's body would remain in the hospital and when her spirit re-entered Cordy would die. Something about her body not having enough support to sustain her after she was gone for such a long period. Cordelia hadn't even blinked, the yes had been spoken before she'd even processed the words, and there was no way she would be taking them back.

The only problem was that she had a day in front of her, a day to just think about how she would never see another day again. She would never see anyone that she loved ever again, and some people that she loved, she wouldn't get to see for a last time. The thought broke her heart, but she'd made her choice, she either never woke up, or she woke up briefly.

_"Cordelia, if you go back inside your body, you wont wake up." _

Skip had something like that to her once upon a time, and she had understood the risk then much like she understood the risk (and the price) now. She didn't have time to be afraid, she had to save her loved ones.

* * *

With smiles all around Cordelia greeted Angel and Wesley, since those were the two who came to release her. It seemed appropriate, she had known them both for the longest, they should be the first ones she saw when she was enjoying her last day on earth, not that they knew that of course.

The day went normal as far as Angel Investigations days went (not that it was called that anymore, but she was allowed to be nostalgic) there was a big bad, her and Wesley were doing research, and Cordelia was able to pretend that they were back home at the Hyperion. Well, a much nicer, much bigger, much more demon crawling Hyperion anyway. The point was that up until she had run into Spike and he tried to kill her, and she'd heard the name "Doyle" things had been going pretty well. After that point though, everything turned red and things took a turn for the tragic.

* * *

Cordelia slammed the door shut, twisting the lock violently. Within seconds she'd traveled up to the PTB plane.

"What the hell is going on?" She seethed. "Doyle? Doyle is dead. I watched Doyle die! Why are you doing this!" She screamed out into the open air, nobody was there to greet her this time around.

"lo Princess," a gentle half amused voice spoke from behind her. "Still got quite the temper."

Cordelia spun around so fast that she got dizzy. Doyle was standing right in front of her. Cordelia tackle hugged him.

"Doyle!" She exclaimed happily, her arms tightening around him.

"Princess, didn't know you'd be this happy to see me." He joked, returning the fierce hug.

"That's because you're an idiot." Cordelia replied good-naturedly pulling away from the hug, giving him one of her trademark Cordy smiles. "But now, I have to ask you," She took a deep breath for strength and looked right into Doyle's eyes, her voice suddenly small and scared. "Is it going to hurt?"

Doyle took her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "For you, no. You'll just slip into the shadows while you sleep."

"I'm afraid. I don't know how to be like you. You weren't scared at all, you saved the world and I'm afraid of dying when I already know that I'm going to die in my sleep." Cordelia laughed nervously.

Doyle pulled her into another hug. "You're a champion, a hero. Don't forget that." He whispered in her ear. "They're probably missing you princess."

Cordelia nodded, straightening her shoulders, a determined look settled on her face. "You're right. I have to go beat the ass of someone daring to use your name. Plus, you know, Angel, totally lost without us." She flashed him another signature smile before going back to the realm where Angel, Wes, and everyone else was. Despite her encouraging talk with Doyle, Cordelia still didn't know how she was going to do this. But Angel _needed _her and so Cordelia walked out of the room to go play hero for the very last time.

* * *

Cordelia sighed hoping everything worked out for the best. She'd told Angel everything she could, she'd helped defeat Lindsey (she never did like him either for the record) and she was going to spend her last few minutes with Angel. Or rather, saying her final good-bye to her best friend, and someone who could have been so much more if only fate hadn't gotten in the way.

"Cordelia I need you here." Angel said, looking her directly into the eyes. He wasn't understanding that no matter how much Cordy wanted to stay she wasn't aloud to. Sacrifices had to be made, sacrifices such as her very own life.

"Don't make it hard Angel," she said softly desperately trying to keep her tone from becoming pleading. "I'm just on a different road- and this is… this is my off-ramo. The Powers owed me one, and lets just say that I didn't waste it. I got my guy back on track." Please let him understand, she begged quietly inside of her head. She didn't know how else to say good-bye without just saying the words. And sure, maybe Cordelia did have the best tact ethic but she couldn't do that to him. She couldn't do that to Angel.

"Cordy," Angel pleaded, desperately. "There's just-"

"We take what we can get, champ, and we do our best with it." Cordelia said, swiftly cutting him off. She offered him a smile that was both sweet and mournful all at the same time. Angel nodded her a reluctant agreement. Her smile widened for know reason in particular as she turned to go.

She had reached the hallway, busy replaying every wonderful moment of her life in her head when she remembered something that Doyle had done before he died. He'd kissed her, and gave her a vision. The loophole had been love.

"Aw, what the hell." She announced turning and running into Angel's arms, their lips meeting unrestrained forbidden longing dancing behind their lips. Cordelia had a feeling they could've kissed forever if the phone hadn't rang, and somehow Cordelia just knew. Angel had to answer it, and Cordelia had to leave.

"You have to answer that." She told, a soft smile on her lips.

"No I don't." Angel answered petulantly, pulling away even as he said it. Cordelia nodded at him and he turned to answer the phone, heaving a dramatic sigh as he did so.

Cordelia flashed him her trademark smile, turning and walking out the door. She didn't have any regrets. "Oh," She said loudly, turing to face him again, still smiling her Cordy grin. "And you're welcome."

Her trademark grin remained on her face as she transported from Wolfram and Hart into her hospital bed, the location identified only by the whirring of machines that she could hear, slowly sputtering to a halt as the life slowly exited Cordelia Chase.

She couldn't help it, fear crept back into her again, all these insecurities she'd always had came rushing back to the surface and she was suddenly so damn afraid to die.

"Princess," he called. "Don't worry, it doesn't hurt at all."

Cordelia looked into Doyle's eyes, and the grin was back on her face. Dying would take a second maybe, and then she'd have an eons of time in the afterlife streching in front of her, time for her to simply be happy, and carefree with her favorite half-demon.

* * *

The hospital nurse walked into the room, screaming softly and dropping her supplies at the horrifying site in front of her. The heart monitor for the young Cordelia Chase showed no pulse, no heart rate.

The doctors and helping hands rushed into the room, giving the girl electric charges to the heart both nothing worked she was gone.

The time of death was taken, painting the picture that she had slipped quietly into death with no one being the wiser. They reassured the grieving loved ones that it had been completely painless, she'd gone peacefully, she'd gone sleeping. They told them all that their friend Cordelia was in a much better place, but little did any of them know.

* * *

If you were up in heaven, you would probably be able to hear the laughter and sense the joy radiating off the pair for miles. A young girl and a young boy, happy and innocent having the time of their lives.

The gods watched them from afar smiles on their usually expressionless faces. They smiled because anyway who knew the tale of those two knew that they deserved a happy ending. Burdened with visions, the weight of the world crushing them, the stakes always high, and in the end, the stakes had been so high that lives had been gambled, and lives had been lost, but the pair of them had saved plenty.

Champions. The laughing duo were champions. Heroes, called upon by the Powers That Be to save the world, and they had. They'd saved the world, and they'd helped with the creation of Angel, the champion who saved all that the smiling pair had not been able to save.

The gods, and all the other observant occupants of heaven watched intrigued, and blissful as the boy whispers something into the brunettes ear. Her laughter sings to them, and soon the pair both have dazzling smiles on their faces. The girl leans in and kisses him, and everyone knows it must be soft and sweet and compassionate. She pulls away and the smiles remain in place, as the two of them continue talking to one another, both looking slightly dreamy and incredibly hopeful.

* * *

Years pass by, the charismatic pair grows closer together, inseparable, heroes, champions, to be remembered forever for their tale of hardships and their ever continuing tale of love.

And in a special corner of heaven two statues stand tall and proud hands intertwined , smiles frozen in place, with eyes dancing with uncontained joy.

Beneath the statues two names are carved into a gleaming marble so that they will never be forgotten, shining so that the two are remembered as shining champions.

Cordelia Chase and Allan Francis Doyle. Two heroes who finally got their happy ever after.


End file.
